Lathbora Viran
by HinLover
Summary: A love gone astray and a love not yet started. When the estranged come back, will the new stand down, stand up...or join in? Three years since the defeat of Corypheus. One year since the Exalted Coucil, when the fate of the Inquisition was decided. Cullen Rutherford has his place, his plan. But will certain cirsumastances lead him down a road even he could not have foreseen?
1. Chapter 1

So just to get it over with. I do not own anything having to do with the Dragon's Age series, this story is just for my and my readers personal enjoyment.

Now that being said, first chapter is a little short. Not my first DA: Inquisition fic, but it is my first with two certain pairs. Now, I know this fic won't jive with some people, and that's okay. I'm doing it because I personally find the mash up interesting. I want to see where it leads me.

/Interested in a Co-Author!/

Looking for a co-author for this, preferably someone who likes to take characters &outside of their box& and someone who would like to write Solas, I'm just not sure where I want to go with his character yet, I'm hoping maybe someone else will. I like writing as the male characters, you get your Inquisitor's perspective. But never her romantic interest's. I like to change that.

Anyway, if you're interested let me know, just a foreward, this is a mature/explicit fic. I like sex scenes. Sexual innuendo, dirty bits. Lots of sex stuff. I also like fluff, but if you don't want to write sexys then...this may not be for you lol.

/END/

Now for those reading, I hope you enjoys where these characters are going to go. Also *********SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!************

This all occurs AFTER the Tresspasser DLC. If you have not played it, MAJOR SPOILERS. concerning possible fate of Inquisitions/Characters and Romance options.

You have been warned.

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"Ser, we've located the Inquisitor."

"Good. It is time I rejoined ma vhenan."

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"Valca….you're doing it again." Cullen smiled as he watched the former Herald of Adraste and Inquisitor jump at his voice. She'd been absentmindedly rubbing at the spot on her cheek where some of her golden vallaslin had rested so many years ago. She'd been doing that more and more often of late. Ever since she'd officially disbanded the Inquisition, and taken up residence with him in Ferelden he'd seen more and more of her melancholy side. They'd been doing some undercover research on Solas's plans for the Elven resurrection, under the guise of setting up shop to help former Templar's recover from their addictions….or find a safe place to be comfortable in their last days. Days were long, sometimes nights were too, but they still had many friends who helped where they could. If Cullen was being truthful, he missed the Inquisition as it was, but he thought their new operation was working out slightly better than before.

Orlais and Ferelden had been mollified when she had disbanded the Inquisition. No one was watching over their backs to make sure they knew their place. For all intents and purposes the Inquisition really had disbanded. No one had to know that they kept up with everything that went on, just as they had before. No one had to know of their efforts, that beneath their comfortable and very ordinary looking lives, an institution still flourished.

"I'm sorry Cullen….I know I've been terrible company lately." Cullen was brought out of his thoughts by her quiet voice. She still wasn't looking at him, her gaze far off. She'd set her hands in her lap and was twiddling them idly. Valca Lavellan was still mostly a mystery to Cullen. Her knew she was Dalish, knew how she came to be at the Conclave, and then her story up until now. But her as a person? He'd gotten to know her a little as the years had gone by. She was usually a spit fire by nature. Quick to anger, but also quick to calm. She had an energy about her that was magnetic, and it drew people to her. Himself not excluded. They'd flirted some in the beginning. She'd become dear to him, not that he would admit that, he'd heard she and Solas had had some sort of relationship, and he was not one to impose. When she had tried to discuss her feelings towards him, he had stopped her as gently as he could. He knew it would have done neither of them good. Even when he noticed the shift between her and the mage, the not so subtle way the male elf had distanced himself in the months before Corypheus had been defeated.

He hadn't wanted to be the second best option. Even now, after Solas had left her for two years, only to come back as a betrayer? He knew the feelings were still there. Unrequited love could take a deep toll on someone though. He took a moment to study Valca. She'd always been beautiful. Even with the "slave markings" as she'd referred to them after they'd been removed by a bit of the mage's magic. She was a captivating sight even on her worst days. Darkly tanned with eyes a blazing green, a color that almost exactly matched the color of the anchor on her hand. He'd heard The Iron Bull refer to them as "big creepy elf eyes", Cullen had found that amusing, that someone could see them as anything but beautiful. Then again, he may be partial. Her hair, which had been shorter three years ago when they'd first met, was a dark brown and braided in a neat plait that went near to under her shoulder blades. She'd referred to the color as Dalish dir. To him it reminded him more of the color of an acorn. Dark brown, with a little bit of red and gold mixed in. Definitely not dirt colored. His gaze dipped down over the profile of her high cheek and the pert upturned tip of her nose to her mouth. He grimaced at the tug it cause in the pit of his stomach. Maker that mouth.

Cullen was by no means a saintly man. Granted, he hadn't had any romantic ties since before the Inquisition, but that was romantic ties. He was, by nature though, a very sexual man. He kept it to himself, making sure his liaisons were discreet, and brief. He'd had a few lovers, none in the recent year, but he was by no means celibate or uninterested. When he'd first met the Inquisitor at the war table in Haven, he'd been captivated by that mouth…..and very thankful for his heavy armor. He'd had many a wicked dream about it ever since. It was lush, full to the point of almost being indecent. Just the way he liked it. Sometimes he'd get sidetracked just looking at it, and oh the things he'd imagined it doing to him. Those rose colored lips begged for someone to take them, and he'd been tempted. Many times. It irked him a little, he would admit, to think that the elven mage had beaten him to it….and then left. Leaving the bearer with no desire to do anything but sigh with them.

A waste to be sure. He'd bet that Valca had a spark in her that when kindle the right way, would blaze into a fire. Now increasingly uncomfortable in the front of his too tight trousers, Cullen shifted under the desk he was sitting at, definitely glad for the cover.

"Inquisitor," At her previously formal title her head turned to him, her eyes narrowing, a little bit of that spark coming back. He had to hide his grin at the thrill that went up his spine.

"I'm not the Inquisitor anymore Cullen," She said, her irritation clear, but he was focused on her mouth. He really had to do something about his fascination. It was getting out of hand lately. "You know I want you to call me Valca." She gave a sigh. "No more fancy titles for me." She waved a hand in his direction, the hand that had been replaced with a magicked metal replica of the one she had come back missing, after her last mission to save Thedas from the Qunari invasion. They'd all been surprised when she'd stormed into the Exalted Council with the sleeve of her left arm pinned high and empty. It was then she'd disbanded the Inquisition, and it was a while before she'd told anyone what had happened. The anchor had almost killed her. Fen'harel, as she would now only refer to Solas as, had "saved" her, but not the appendage. She'd had a master blacksmith and mage work together to create something wholly unique. A bit of moving metal magic. The new hand worked and acted like the old, something Cullen found hard to fathom, but for a while she seemed to resent it.

Her being a warrior, it made sense. It took her some time to acclimate her sword work to the change, but if anything, she'd only become stronger and more determined afterwards. He also couldn't say that a little part of him didn't find the new hand interesting, and wonder at how it would feel against his skin. It was just another part of her he'd come to have an unhealthy obsession with in the last year.

"How are things coming with our new ward?" She changed the subject so quickly Cullen had to think fast to supply an answer that would cover up the fact that he'd been mindlessly staring at her. He ignored the prickling heat at the back of his neck. If he rubbed it she'd know for sure he was uncomfortable about something. She'd pointed out the little tell when they'd been having a game of chess a few months ago. He'd been aghast to know he'd been so easy to read, by such a small gesture.

"As well as can be expected….or hoped." He cleared his throat. She was talking about a new Templar who had come to them but a week back. He'd been trying to kick his Lyrium habit himself, disentangle from the Templar Order. With little success. He'd heard about Cullen and Valca's operation through a friend who had weaned himself off of the blue drug. Cullen now referred to it as such, because it had come to be that to him. The song of Lyrium was beautiful at the beginning, empowering and captivating. But too soon it turned to a hunger that had made many feel more beast than man. That's when Cullen himself had decided to disentangle from that life. It had been hard; he knew his temper had been beastly for a time. But one of the chief reasons why Valca had become so dear to him was because she had never doubted his resolve. Never let him get lost.

"Roderik is having some mood swings, but he's well on his way to recovery. He'd already been coming off of it when he came to us." He scrubbed a hand over his chin, not surprised to find he'd added more stubble. He'd not shaved in a few days. A perk from not being someone of consequence any longer, he supposed. He noticed Valca giving him a look he couldn't quite place. "Something wrong?" Her bright green eyes flickered up from his chin to his own.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so…rugged before." The way she said the word "rugged" piqued his interest immediately. A dip in her voice that was almost imperceptible. At the risk of assuming the change as a tone of interest Cullen shrugged lightly.

"I've got no one to keep up appearances for. Plus," His gaze caught her's. "I think I've always looked better with facial hair." He could slap himself. He really could. It sounded as if he were fishing for a compliment. Valca smiled, a flash of straight white teeth, and a mouth watering curl of lips.

"I didn't say I did not like it...Commander." She gave him a saucy wink before she got up from her seat across from him. She stretched, arms above her head, eyes closed. The motion pulled up her white shirt, baring a strip of taut tanned skin at her belly, and pushing her breasts up. She was a slender woman, but she had the breasts of an orlaisian courtesan. Full and heavy on her slight frame. His mouth really did water then. He didn't know what had brought her about face in attitude, but he definitely did not mind it. He was about to speak again when she finished her stretch. She grinned at him.

"I should go check in on our charges." She didn't give him a chance to protest. She was out the door in a moment. Leaving Cullen alone...except for the throbbing ache of his cock beneath his trouser front. He shifted uncomfortably, then finally reached down and rubbed himself beneath the fabric. He cursed almost immediately after. The one stroke only furthered his arousal. He sighed and brought his hands up, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him, and placed his face in his hands. He'd been a sexually frustrated mess since Valca had arrived. He'd let her be because she was still vunerable, Solas's return still fresh on her mind. He'd been respecting her feelings for the other man. Even respected her wish to find a way to stop him with his Elven Resurrection Scheme. She wanted him to return to her. Cullen had to remember that. She was waiting for another man. No matter how flirty she may be, her attentions were elsewhere.

The anger was sudden and unexpected. A hot burn of jealousy spreading up his neck. He scrubbed furiously at the sensation. This is exactly why he didn't like to get involved. Sex was easy. You were usually satisfied with the outcome. This, whatever it was between Valca and himself, was another beast all together. Every time she left he was more and more frustrated. And less patient. A thought came to him then and he lifted his head, a smile curling his lip. Maybe he would finally let his true intentions be known. At the very least, the ex-Inquisitor was about to find out that &Commander& Cullen, was not as sweet and unassuming as she believed.


	2. A Threat?

"Why on Earth do you insist on training so early, EVERY morning?" Cullen smiled as he lunged toward the practice dummy in front of him. He spied Valca from the corner of his eye, she was rubbing a hand over one tired, and slightly red-rimmed eye. He had a pang in his chest right where he struck the dummy. He stared at it a moment before he straightened and turned fully towards the female elf. She was rumpled from sleep, her red blouse buttoned up to her neck to ward off the chilly morning air. Her brown trousers were slightly rumpled, and she had no shoes on. He'd noticed she liked to be free of them when she could. When he'd asked her why once, she'd smiled and said that toes give you more traction in the dirt. He'd assumed she'd meant that towards sword fighting, but sometimes he never quite knew with her. Said toes wiggled as he looked at them, and his smile widened as his gaze roamed back up to her face.

He felt another twinge as he took in the dark smudges under her eyes. She'd obviously not had a well-rested night. Her hair wasn't braided this morning; instead she'd merely tucked it into a sloppy bun at the back of her head. A few stray tendrils framed her face by her ears and he had the silly urge to tuck them back. He'd refrain from that of course. Instead he walked to her where she was standing on the other side of the makeshift training ring he'd made a little while after he'd established this place. He'd felt exercise would do not only himself, but any others trying to shake Lyrium, some good.

"I practice, because if I do not I will grow a paunch." He was trying to make her laugh, but the look she cast down towards the sweat soaked material of his beige shirt that clung to the clearly very flat plane of his abdomen, made him want to draw a different sound from her entirely. Her glowing green gaze had flicked to the, he just noticed, sticky material of his shirt front. He'd not expected to work that hard this morning, he'd thought the thin clothing in the cool morning air would have made him just chilly enough not to sweat too much. He'd been wrong. Now he was very aware that Valca now seemed to be very aware that he indeed, had no paunch….and she looked at if the thought intrigued her. Maker's balls.

Clearing his throat, Cullen brought her attention back up to him. She grinned at him, throwing him off his train of thought. "Maybe I should get into the habit of joining you." She said smoothly, she motioned toward the sky then. "Except I would much rather wait until it is light enough to be able to see all…" A small flicker of her eyes back down his body, made him shiver from more than the chill. "Of my opponent." Cullen looked around them, it was lighter than it was when he'd first come out, but the hillside where their buildings rested was still covered in the gray shadows of early morning. He shrugged, deciding to turn the conversation away from himself.

"I think some more training could do you some good." She looked affronted at that, when he realized what he said implied, he lifted a hand in front of him and shook his head. "That is NOT what I meant. I'm just saying if you want to keep that," He motioned towards her metal hand, it clenched and he swallowed hard. Maker he was making a mess of this. He should write a book, 'How to Insult Women in Less Than Two Sentences.'

"What I mean to say is that it could be a great stress relief." He said the sentence a little fast, but she must have understood; for he noticed the corners of that pouty mouth of hers soften slightly. He almost melted into a puddle of relief himself. He'd never been good at talking to women, especially women he liked. His awkwardness had always been deemed adorable, much to his displeasure…well, mild displeasure. It usually led to a pleasurable outcome. If only he could talk as smoothly from his mouth as he could in his head.

"You're probably right…." She said, she sounded off-put still. Cullen took the opportunity.

"How about right now?" She hesitated, her gaze flitting from one side to the other, as if she would refuse. "Look, at least it will wear you out enough for you to get some sleep Valca." She stilled, her eyes, which had drifted to the right returned slowly back to his. She looked mildly surprised, and a whole lot of guarded.

"I'm not blind; I can tell you had a rough night." Her shoulders slumped slightly, but before she could open her mouth he finished, "I'll even go easy on you….just in case you can't handle me." He tried not to smile when her spine stiffened. She straightened herself to her full height (all 5 foot 3 inch nothing of her), and leaned directly to her left and grabbed a wooden training sword from the rack beside the training circle's fencing. He did smile when she hoisted herself over the fenced and landed lightly on her feet across from him. His smile faded to a grimace though when she stood and immediately took a swing at him. He had to jerk his head away and step back a few paces to keep that blow and the next she would have landed from hitting him. If his reflexes had been any slower the first blow would've hit him in the face.

He frowned at her, she didn't stop coming though, he dodged blow after blow. She was normally a two-handed swords woman. It showed in her technique that she was not used to smaller, lighter weapons. Her blows swung heavy, and landed fiercely. Cullen felt a spark of irritation.

"Don't swing so hard, it's a wooden sword not a battle-axe!" He shouted above to clack of his sword against hers. Her brows drew low over her eyes, the dark brown making the green look like it was glowing. Her next blow was lighter at least. Cullen slapped it to the side with his own blade. He immediately took the opening and the tip of his wooden sword pressed into the soft space below her rib-cage. She looked down shocked for a moment before her face took on a thunderous expression.

"Don't leave openings 'Inquisitor'." He said smugly, a smugness wiped away by a quick blow to his right knee. She'd moved in so quickly he hadn't seen it coming; he dropped as his knee gave way beneath him. A throbbing ache accompanied its connection with the ground. Cullen grunted, but had no time to check it. A flurry of quick succession blows followed. He blocked all but the last, which slapped him across the face. Her gasp did little to help the sting he felt growing in his cheek. He lifted his hand to it, his eyes wide. Not as wide as hers though. Her sword clattered to the ground and she dropped herself in front of him. Her eyes were already misting, and she reached out to him. Cullen let her test the already bruising skin. When he jerked at the touch she bit her bottom lip, and pain or no, he had the absurd notion to do it himself. It was then he realized he was completely aroused. The front of his trousers was so tight that when she swiped another gentle touch over his cheek, his cock actually twitched in response, his groan was genuine but not from pain.

She immediately took her hand away, and Cullen met her worried gaze. He didn't know what came over him then, both of them kneeling in the dirt sweating and out of breath, his cheek swelling and her eyes watering. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to him. He fell back on his ass and she was dragged between his legs, his lips found hers even as his eyes closed. The soft drag of her mouth on his made him groan again. His grip on her arm tightened; if it hurt she didn't give a sign. He opened his mouth on hers and slipped his tongue across the seam of her mouth. She opened on a gasp almost immediately, and he took full advantage. His tongue delved in, and after a few strokes, hers joined his in a slick embrace. His other arm came up as he sucked her lower lip into his mouth, and he pulled her against him as best he could. Her knees slid to either side of his hips as she tried to find a comfortable position. It landed her squarely over his crotch. He slipped his hands to her hips and ground her down on him as he lifted up. She gasped, her head trying to go back, but he grabbed her lip gently in his teeth and tugged with a growl from deep within his chest.

He surprised himself at the noise, releasing her lip immediately. They stared at each other for a long moment. Her face was flushed, eyes heavy lidded and blazing. Her lips where bruised from his kiss and her chin chaffed slightly from the stubble on his own. She was still firmly sat on his lap. He tested the waters by pushing her down on him again, more lightly this time. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and a tiny noise escaped her. Cullen's eye's closed.

"Maker's breath." His voice didn't sound like his own, deep and rough from desire. He lifted her from him then and set her to the side. When she was firmly on the ground beside him Cullen rubbed his face with his hands.

"That wasn't supposed to happen." He muttered into them. He heard her snort softly beside him.

"I knew you weren't as unaffected as you played to be." He dropped his hands and turned his head to look at her. "But, I can say I was thoroughly delighted to find you kiss far less stiffly than you act." Her lopsided grin tugged a spot low in his belly. He shook his head at her and started to rise.

"Valca…." He started as he stood. He looked down at her when he was up, she'd made her way to her knees and their position was not lost to his still desire fogged mind. "You can't imagine how long and how….BADLY I've wanted to do that." Her eyes sparked and she gave him a slow smile. She started to rise and reach for him. He stepped back and shook his head. "But not like this." Her curious look almost undid him. He didn't want to admit what he said next.

"You're still with someone else…." When she frowned and opened her mouth, he held up a hand to silence her. Damn him he even reached for the back of his neck as it itched with a jealousy he despised. "Maybe not physically….but mentally…emotionally." He gazed at her, took in her now shuttered expression. Before he could say more though, she turned on her heel and walked away. He took a selfish moment to appreciate the generous swell of her backside as she left. He sighed. He knew it'd been a low blow. Hell, he'd hated saying that to her, even though it was true. But…..

"I just can't be second best." He tried to convince himself.

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A heavy sigh whipped out into the wind from Solas' place in a tree not even 20 yards from the training ground former Inquisitor, Valca Lavellan, had just vacated. Magic crackled around him as his irritation settled from the scene he he'd been an unknowing third-party to. He did not like finding his _vhenan_ in another's arms. Especially not the arms of the ex-Templar Commander of her former armies. He paused at the thought. He supposed that was selfish of him. That after so much time with no contact, he should think she could not find affection with someone else. When he'd first heard she'd taken up with Cullen Rutherford he had honestly, and most arrogantly, assumed the man would never have had the courage to act on the interest he held for the warrioress. The desire that been plain to Solas, and everyone else for that matter, that had known him.

He found it intriguing that he'd misjudged the other man's character. He watched the blonde man scrub at his neck furiously, a habit Solas noted the other man had not been able to shake in the year's he'd been gone. With some mild interest he leaned forward, placing an elbow on his knee and putting his chin in his hand. He studied the ex-templar for a moment. The man was still as broad and thickly muscled as he had been years ago, when Solas had seen him last. He kept his hair shorter now than before though, more militant. Solas thought the change actually suited the man well enough. A smile curved his mouth as and slid a hand over his own shorn head. He may have a biased opinion though. As he watched, the other man picked up the wooden sword he had dropped when Valca had landed that particularly nasty blow to his face. Solas lifted a brow when Cullen stomped over the dummy he had been practicing with before Lavellan had come out, and promptly beheaded it with a fierce blow to its wooden neck.

An intriguing development. Cullen played shy and easily embarrassed, but the Dread Wolf felt a simmering of energy from the man that made his skin prickle in response. He lifted his arm and saw the hair there had risen. His grin was more a baring of teeth, than from true humor. He knew a threat to his territory when he saw one.


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